Bridging device for railway crossings



.G.J. GIANNACOPOULOS.

BRIDGING DEVICE FOR RAILWAY CROSSINGS,

APPLICATION FILED nfc.23, 1921.

1,418,559. PatentedJune 6, 1922.,

nmlmesmn Lic unirse stares Partnr .lorries-f GEORG'J". GIA'NNACOPOULOS, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

BRIDGING knavron ron RAILWAY 'cRossI'NGs specieeauon of Leners'ratent. Patented J une 6, 19.22.

'Applicatinjled December 23, 1921. Serial 110.524,382.

sive, and compact device otthis character which embodies improvements whereby various details oit the construction set forth in my aforesaid patent are completely eliminated and an efficient and positively acting device ot this character is provided.

i'lhv presentl 'invention embodies a slidable abutment. adapted to be depressed `by the car wheel. a sli'dable bridging member positioned to serve as a continuation of the abutment when said bridging member' is elevated on the depression of the abutment, an intermediate slide whereby motion is transmitted trom the abutment to the bridging member,

and slidable co-acting parts on the aforesaid member, las also an improved locking means, spring actuating devices, and other improvements set forth more fully hereinafter.

lhen my present invention is installed at a railway crossing, car wheels pass over the crossing with minimum noise, shock, or `iar and when the crossing has been passed, the abutment resumes its normal, elevated, position. and the bridging member its normal, depressed position so that the crossing arrangement remains as it was before the car passed over.

l am aware that modifications may be resorted to without departing from the essential principles involved in the invention and the particular embodiment of the invention hereinafter described and which is shown in the accompanying drawings is to be considered as illustrative, instead of restrictive, of thesco'pe of the invention.r

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan AView` showing two of the rails at a railway crossing;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly in section, the cover being removed; and

Fig, 3 isa vertical section taken 'through the abutment and the transmitting slide.

`The ends ol one rail' ,ot a crossingy arer shown at 1 and those ofthe other part at 2. At each of the 'four points where the rails, cross, at a crossing, there will be pro- `vided an embodiment of the invention here-V inafter described so that the rail ends will be bridged regardless "of which track is used.

Suitable castings ma' 4loe used lfor housing the vmovable parts ofl the invention, or the rail ends themselves `may be provided with the attachments representing the-pres- Vent improvements.

Whichever arrangement is provided,i`the depressible abutment,'thel upwardly `inovv able bridging member, and the intermediate i transmitting member are mounted insuitable guideways 3 which are provided inthe `casing'or housing 4.

'lhe'depressible' abutment' 5 is provided with a bevel 6y so that 'the car wheel can readily depress the rabutment without shock.

The upper face ofthe abutment onwhich Apart of the wheel travels is shown at 7. one ot the guidesB is formed as an. overlapping tongue 8 which is received ina groove 9 in the side of the abutment.

The bridging device or slide 10 is of the same thickness as the abutment 5 andfdisposed so that as the abutment is depressed, the bridging device or slide 10 will rise and its upper tace 11 will form a continuation of the upperface 7 of the abutment and will remain in this position to enable the car wheels to cross over the'groove in the other rail, with minimum noise, shockand 'l jar.

pressed toward the abutment 5 by a jcoil spring 17' located in an opening .18 in4 said slide. The slide 16 is arranged at right angles to the abutment 5 and it has a bevel face 19 adapted to cooperate witha bevel`face-2O 95 f A. suitable coil spring 12 disposed in an yings7 the combination with a depressible results in the elevation of the bridging device l() as heretofore explained. it is desirable to lock the bridging device l() in elevated position for that purpose there is provided a spring actuated locking y bolt 23 which is adapted to bereceived in a pocket or lreeper 9A in the tace 22 when the slidel() has been properly elevated. The spring which acts on the bolt 23 tends to retract the bolt. Aninclined surface 26 on one ot the guides 3, or on any part of the housing 4l, bears on the end of the bolt and causes it to be forced into the pocket or keeper 24 when the slide l() is in elevated'position. Y

When the car has completely passed, the springs l2, le, l5 and 9,5 restore the parts to normal. position.

i claim: l. In a bridging device for railway crossabutment, of a bridging device, a transmitting slide actuated on the depression oi the kabutment and 'adapted lfor elevating the bridging device, and a spring-actuated locking device tor holding the bridging device in elevated position until the car wheel has passed thereover. i

2. ln a bridging device for railway crossings, the combination with a depressible abutment" slide having a cam or incline, of spring means 'for holding said abutment slide normally elevated, a slidable bridging device provided with a cam or incline, spring means for normally holding said bridging device depressed, a transmitting slide having cams or molines adzipted Yfor engagement with the cams or inclines on the abutment slide and bridging device, spring means for actuating said transmitting slide, and a spring-actuated locking device carried by the bridging device and adapted to engage the transmitting` slide to lock said bridging device in elevated position until the car wheel has passed over said bridging device` 3. In a bridging device ltor railway crossings, the combination. with a bridging slide, of a car actuated member adapted to elevate said bridging slide, a spring-actuated' bolt carried by the bridging slide and adapted to ei'igage said car member to lock the bridgingl slide in elevated position, and means for actuating said bolt in opposition to the action of the spring thereof, the bolt being normally retracted when the bridging slide is depressed.

In testinionv whereof I al'liX my signature. GEORGE J. GIfiNNACOPOULOS. 

